ISLAMABAD: BAT Group, the parent organization of Pakistan Tobacco Company Limited (PTC) has invested in a shared business services setup in Pakistan and inaugurated its Islamabad office here on Wednesday.

Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives, Asad Umar graced the occasion as chief guest. On the occasion, Ali Akbar, MD & CEO PTC, Shannon McInnes, Area Head of Marketing, Middle East & South Asia and KhurramShahzad, Head of GBS, were also present.

Global Business Services (GBS) Office will focus on pioneered shared services capabilities, including but not limited to Digital Marketing Capabilities, Business Intelligence & Data Analytics, Legal Consultancy, and Advance Pricing Analytics.

GBS set up currently operates in Malaysia, Romania, and Costa Rica and in 2020, BAT decided to expand it GBS services and after a rigorous and deliberative process of evaluating countries like Bangladesh, Malaysia, India, Philippines, and Pakistan on key factors like existing BAT commercial presence, economic sustainability and the availability of key talent, BAT group selected Pakistan to be the site for its shared services operations for Asia Pacific & Middle East (APME) region. As a first step in this journey, a Liaison office has been established in Islamabad. This office will provide a base for the new set up to start operating and full-fledged operations will be carried out from Lahore in the near future.

While speaking on the occasion, Asad Umar congratulated BAT on setting up the new shared services business and mentioned that the decision to set up its GBS office in Pakistan shows the commitment of the government to make Pakistan a business and investment friendly country. Commenting on the establishment of Global Business Services Office, Head of GBS project for Pakistan, Khurram Shahzad said that the BAT group through GBS aims to create 3,000+ job opportunities in the country over the years.

This creates a myriad of opportunities not only for the shared services industry but also for the current and emerging Pakistani talent who will be presented with opportunities to work in environments with global exposure.

Ali Akbar, MD & CEO, PTC mentioned that BAT’s decision to set up a GBS office in Pakistan will serve as an example for other multinationals to follow suit and bring their investments to Pakistan and support the establishment of a shared services industry in the country while developing digital marketing solutions in Pakistan that will enable technological advances. We are estimating that in the next few years the services export potential through this set up will amount to USD 50 million at its full potential, he added.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021